But since when was there anything pretty about Stanford’s intentions on the football field? Or, for that matter, Wisconsin’s?

Both programs aim to will their way to victory; it starts in the weight room in the winter and blooms in the fourth quarters of the hardest-fought games.

In 2012, both Stanford and Wisconsin did what they do. The No. 8-ranked Cardinal (12-2) just did it a lot better. Tuesday’s 20-14 win at the Rose Bowl was a perfect summation of the season—for both teams.

David Shaw’s grinding offense didn’t get much done after putting two first-quarter touchdowns on the board, but the unit came through in the fourth quarter with a 10-play, 62-yard drive that ended in a field goal but melted 6:31 off the clock.

“We wanted to execute better,” said Shaw, “and, that drive, we finally did it.”

The Badgers (8-6) had a final shot to drive for a game-winning touchdown, but they just couldn’t get it done. Usua Amanam’s interception of Curt Phillips’ pass sealed it.

Stanford came through in the clutch throughout the season, going 8-2 in games decided by seven points or less. The Badgers, on the other hand, were 2-6 in such games.

Having Barry Alvarez on the sideline couldn’t get the Big Ten champs over the hump in Pasadena. Wisconsin has lost three straight Rose Bowls now—salt in the wound for a team that has suffered so many heartbreaking defeats this season alone.

From here, the Badgers turn to Gary Andersen to coach them into a new era that—if it’s anything like the Alvarez and Bret Bielema eras—will be filled with extreme toughness, consistent competitiveness and lots of wins.

But Stanford is aiming even higher. There’s little question Shaw’s program has moved into a truly elite neighborhood on the college football map. More Rose Bowls—and a shot or two at the national championship—seem to be in the Cardinal’s near future.

“To be honest,” said Shaw, “we’re still on the ascent. We can still play so much better, and that’s our charge now.”

FSU’s STIRRING PERFORMANCE … ON THE BIG STAGE?

In the end, Florida State nearly doubled Northern Illinois in total yards, 528-270. To be sure, Jordan Lynch, the quarterback of the 16th-ranked Huskies (12-2), didn’t scare the No. 13 Seminoles (12-2), let alone bring them to their knees. Without a doubt, this was a mismatch.

Whether FSU truly proved anything in its 31-10 Orange Bowl victory is a matter of opinion.

“Our kids learned to handle the big stage,” coach Jimbo Fisher.

A game vs. the champ of the MAC—is that really all that big a stage?

“They’ve set the pace and the standard for the future,” Fisher said of his seniors, including quarterback EJ Manuel, who finished his career with a 25-6 record as a starter.

That comment was more indisputably sensible. Twelve wins, sure, that’s a lot. And “standards” are made to be surpassed, which Fisher certainly hopes will happen in 2013.

THIS AND THAT

• Three moments we’ll never forget from No. 11 South Carolina’s 33-28 win vs. No. 19 Michigan in the Outback Bowl: Jadeveon Clowney’s watch-it-10-times-and-you-still-won’t-believe-it hit on Vincent Smith; the strangest fourth-down measurement that ever was or ever will be; and, of course, Bruce Ellington’s 32-yard touchdown catch from Dylan Thompson with 11 seconds left to win the game.

But a fourth “moment” was as good as any of that, and maybe more lasting. With 100 yards rushing against the Gamecocks (11-2), Michigan’s Denard Robinson became the top career rusher among all quarterbacks in FBS annals. Robinson wasn’t an every-down QB by the end of his career, but the Wolverines (8-5) will miss him more than they probably know.

• In his own way, Pat Fitzgerald is the best coach in the Big Ten. And if not the best, then the coolest. You get the feeling this guy wouldn’t know how to coach a bunch of four- and five-star athletes and absolutely wouldn’t care to try. He’s the ultimate underdog, just like he was as a Rose Bowl linebacker at Northwestern.

“This one goes out to all the Wildcats that have been here before us,” Fitzgerald said after his 21st-ranked team moved to 10-3 with a 34-20 win over Mississippi State (8-5) in the Gator Bowl.

It was NU’s first bowl victory since 1949 but, hinted Fitzgerald, not its last by a long shot.

“The sky’s the limit for where our program can go,” he said.

You’ve got to love him for believing that. Heck, maybe he’s right.

• Clint Chelf wasn’t good enough to keep true freshman Wes Lunt, an early enrollee, from being named the starting quarterback at Oklahoma State in the spring of 2012. Matter of fact, Chelf emerged from spring ball a very disappointing No. 3 on the Cowboys’ depth chart, behind Lunt and redshirt freshman J.W. Walsh.

Would you look at Chelf now? The junior sure was good enough to end the Cowboys’ 8-5 season as the starter. Chelf completed 17 of 22 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions, in a 58-14 blowout of Purdue (6-7) in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

The Pokes have had injuries at quarterback—and the offseason competition should be fierce—but there’s no question Chelf, who wound up 3-2 as the starter, deserves to have his name in the No. 1 slot heading into the offseason.

• Only Nebraska could win 10 games but finish the season in complete disarray. The No. 23 Huskers (10-4) played better than expected vs. No. 6 Georgia (12-2) in the Capital One Bowl, but still they caved in on themselves late in a 45-31 game that kind-of, sort-of was closer than the score indicates, but not really.

The Bulldogs rolled up 589 yards of offense. On the heels of Bo Pelini’s defense giving up 70 points to Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game, there’s a huge mess (still) in Lincoln. Nebraska has lost four games in each of Pelini’s five seasons as coach. To repeat: That’s unacceptable times five. And defense—Pelini’s supposed specialty—is at the heart of all that ails this program.